4-H Now Requires Membership Fees

DAYTON – Staff at the WSU Dayton Extension Office are concerned that membership in 4-H could dwindle after the WSU Youth and Families Program enacted a $25 per-member annual enrollment fee beginning on Oct. 1, 2017. All enrolled 4-H youth ages 5 through 19 are now charged the fee, according to WSU Dayton Extension Agent Paul Carter.

Five dollars of the $25 fee will be allocated to the county to support 4-H programing at the local level. The remaining $20 will be used by the Washington State 4-H program to provide educational programs and experiences and to provide opportunities for professional development. The fee also provides for marketing and risk management purposes, such as paying for leader background checks, Carter said.

The WSU Extension Youth and Families Program cited unit cuts to state and federal funding for WSU Extension and 4-H and increased programming costs as reasons for enacting the annual fee.

Rachel Hutchens at the WSU Dayton Extension Office summed it up, “It’s disappointing there is another fee.

“It is sad. Now they have to pay to learn life skills,” agreed 4-H Program Director Donna Hanger.

While 4-H’ers earn money from livestock sales, some clubs have to come up with entry fees, and don’t earn anything from their projects. Hanger said she is especially concerned about youth in grades K-2, because they are just beginning in 4-H and seeking direction for the future.

Carter said the county is being encouraged to work with individuals, businesses, and organizations to find donors capable of providing scholarships to young people needing assistance with fees.

“We’ve had somebody step up and pay for enrollments next year,” Carter said.

While this is good in the short term, Carter and his staff are concerned about how the State 4-H enrollment fee will impact membership numbers over the long term. Carter said that since a 4-H enrollment fee was enacted in Umatilla County, there has been a reduction in enrollment by more than half.

He said the state set the amount of the fee based on what private organizations such as the YMCA and Boy Scouts are charging.

“We’re a public entity. We have a state and federal tax base that pays into it,” he said. “We need to be fair. We don’t want to lose kids.”

Families who need help with fees should come to the extension office for help. We will do what we can,” Carter said.

Ten out of 13 western states have enacted, or are going to enact, a 4-H enrollment fee. The State 4-H enrollment fee will be in place for the next three years, beginning each year on October 1.